


we all need someone to stay

by wintersend



Series: modern au rom-coms [2]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Getting Together, Jealous Jyn, a little bit of jealousy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 12:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19887907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintersend/pseuds/wintersend
Summary: “You followed me here,” Cassian accuses her, arms crossed in a way that lets her know he means business.“That’s not true. Why would I do that when I know you have a date?” She wipes away noodle from her chest, putting on a show of ignorance.OR, Jyn is bad at feelings and Leia is bad at advice.





	we all need someone to stay

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Friendly Agreement](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18154700) by [FluffMonster42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffMonster42/pseuds/FluffMonster42). 



> This was written for the prompt "You’re not as quiet as you think you are" over at [tumblr](https://captainandors.tumblr.com/post/186429132010/for-the-prompt-list-either-62-youre-not-as) but it turned out to be a little longer than intended so I decided it can stand on its own.
> 
> As you can see, it was also shamelessly inspired by A Friendly Agreement from FluffMonster42 which is a wonderful multichapter AU with a similar premise. You should definitely give it a read if you like smut and modern AUs.

Jyn is never going to listen to Leia ever again. As far as she’s concerned, her advice is what got her in this awkward situation in the first place, noodle soup dripping from her shirt.

Really, Jyn doesn’t know what she was thinking.

“You followed me here,” Cassian accuses her, arms crossed in a way that lets her know he means business. Worse yet, he’s glaring, and not in the playful “Jyn-what-have-you-done-this-time” way. This is a glare she’s not used to receiving from him.

“That’s not true. Why would I do that when I know you have a date?” She wipes away noodle from her chest, putting on a show of ignorance. It’s a waste – Cassian sees right through her bullshit.

He usually does but he also usually finds it amusing. Definitely not this time.

“I’d like to know that too. Jyn. Are you spying on me?”

“No,” she says without pause, pretending to be offended. It feels a little too fake and when Cassian remains staring at her with eyebrows raised, she concedes. “Maybe. But I swear I tripped on accident. I can explain.”

His sigh is so disappointed, she wishes for the ground to swallow her whole. Yeah, she’s definitely not taking Leia’s advice again.

Cassian gestures for her to continue. “Start talking.”

Jyn swallows.

It all began when they ran into Bodhi’s old friend from college, a tall and witty and gorgeous brunette by the name of Marissa. It was hard to miss the way she flirted with Cassian from the second they met and Bodhi decided to play matchmaker. Jyn tried to act like she was busy typing on her phone, but well, they were all sitting in a coffee shop and she couldn’t ignore the conversation around her.

Cassian tried to resist at first.

“I’m not sure about this, Bodhi.”

“Why not? She’s pretty, smart, and clearly into you. Also, she’s the only one who was willing to stay up until three a.m. to help me with my thesis. I swear she’s a saint. Just grab a coffee.”

“I don’t know…”

“Cassian, I say this as your friend, but you have been moping lately.”

“Moping?”

“Yeah, moping. I didn’t push because you clearly don’t want to talk about it, but I think this would be good for you. What do you have to lose?”

Jyn felt Cassian’s eyes on her, a challenge, and she looked up, meeting his gaze without flinching. Bodhi was still looking at Cassian, so she gave a tiny shrug of her shoulders, pretending to be uninterested. _Date whoever you want,_ she was saying. _I don’t care._

That was a lie, of course, but Cassian bought it.

He looked away, but not before she caught the bitter look crossing his face in the flash of a second.

“Alright,” he said to Bodhi. “Why not?”

That was the beginning.

Or maybe it was before that, when she got spooked and ended the secret relationship thing they had going on.

(“We always knew this had an expiration date. I think it’s time to move on.”)

Or before that, when they decided to sleep together and ruin a perfectly good friendship. When she realized she could have all the benefits of hot good sex without the nuisance of feelings and keeping a relationship alive. No strings attached, that was the deal.

Only that didn’t turn out so well. So that was what he was doing now: moving on. She supposed she couldn’t blame him for that.

But it did bother her. At first, she tried to play it off. It was not a big deal, it wouldn’t last. None of Cassian’s relationships did (theirs included) – he just didn’t have the time. And maybe if she let it run its course, it wouldn’t have lasted. But she didn’t expect it to get to a sixth date either, and when she heard they were going out again on Thursday, she might have lost it a little.

A little as in storming home to the apartment she shared with Leia and announcing loudly, “I’m in love with Cassian.”

Leia paused mid-sentence, phone against her ear, then told the person on the other end, “Dad, I’ll call you back.”

Jyn waited as she hung up, heart pounding in her chest for actually having said it aloud. It felt good. Mostly.

It also felt terrifying and a little painful. Admitting it meant admitting she might get hurt from this and there would be no one to blame but herself.

Leia sighed as she put her phone down, giving Jyn an almost pitying look.

“I know.”

Jyn blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Well. I knew you were together. Or having sex at least. And once you pay attention to the little details and the way you two act around each other, it’s not hard to see that somewhere along the way you fell in love.” Leia shook her head, definitely pitying now. “Really, Jyn, don’t you know that friends with benefits relationships never work?”

Jyn stared in disbelief for a second. “I – how do you even know?

Leia gave her a meaningful look. “You’re not as quiet as you think you are.”

“Oh. _Oh_ ,” Jyn said as the meaning dawned on her. She winced, and Leia nodded with a painful grimace. “I’m impressed you kept it all to yourself.”

“Well,” Leia began. “You thought you were being so sneaky – I kind of enjoyed the power of knowing I outsmarted you.”

“Is that all?”

Leia shrugged. “I suppose you also seemed happy.”

Jyn closed her eyes. Yeah, in hindsight, she really had been.

“So… why are you telling me this now?”

She took a deep breath, unsure where to begin. “We ended it a couple of weeks ago.”

“ _We?_ ”

Dammit, Leia knew her too well.

“Alright, so _I_ did.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

Jyn stared at her silently and she shrugged.

“What? There’s clearly tension between the two of you, everyone can see that. Plus, you’re moody and irritable and Cassian is moody and withdrawn. I also haven’t heard you moaning lately. A nice change, by the way. I do want you to be happy but maybe be happy quietly?”

Jyn shook her head, ignoring all that. She didn’t have time to discuss this.

“He’s going on a date with Marissa.”

“And?

“And it’s their sixth date this month alone! _Sixth_. I’m no dating expert but that isn’t good for me, is it? They seem to be getting serious.”

“First of all, I doubt it could possibly be that serious. Maybe they just have a lot of free time on their hands. Second, that depends on what you consider to be good for you. You did break up with him.”

“But I didn’t want to!” Jyn cried out.

Leia raised her eyebrows, expectant, and Jyn let out a defeated sigh. She slumped into a chair, desolately staring ahead.

“It’s just… I got scared.”

Leia took a seat in front of her, hands clasped on the table. Her tone was gentler when she spoke.

“Why don’t you tell him that?”

“Because I can’t!” Jyn exclaimed, gesturing wildly with her hands. “Because he’s dating Marissa,” she paused, getting quieter, “and because I told him he never meant anything to me.”

She wasn’t proud of that, didn’t enjoy twisting the knife in the wound. At the time, she just panicked.

(“So you’re really just going to pretend there’s nothing between us?”

“There _is_ nothing between us, Cassian! It never meant anything to me, it was just sex.”)

“Oh, _Jyn_ ,” Leia said, and it was amazing how much disapproval could fit into two small words.

“I know,” she groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I don’t need your judgement, I need advice.” She looked at Leia, desperately trying to find answers in her friend’s eyes. “Should I tell him how I feel, or should I just let him go?”

Leia contemplated that for a second. She leaned back, crossing her arms across her chest in a very professional manner.

“Do you want to be with him?”

“Well, yes but… For all I know, Marissa could be the love of his life. Do I really begrudge him that? Especially since, let’s face it, I’m not exactly wife or girlfriend material. Maybe he’s better off. _Ow!_ Leia, what the hell?”

Leia held up a finger as Jyn rubbed the spot where she had punched her. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. You wanna know what you’re going to do? You’re going to go over there and you’re going to ruin his date.”

Jyn didn’t like where this was going at all.

“What? _Leia_.”

“Well, I would tell you to wait but like you said, it’s their sixth date and I honestly think you’ll chicken out if you wait. You have to act now. You really should have talked to me about this sooner,” she added with a chastising look.

Jyn shook her head.

“I can’t just – I don’t think Cassian would appreciate that. He’s not Han. He won’t get turned on by me acting like a psycho ex-girlfriend.”

“I resent that. He’ll appreciate it when you make it up to him with make-up sex. That thing you do with your tongue? He’s not quiet either.”

Jyn cringed, briefly screwing her eyes shut.

“For the sake of our friendship, I’m going to ignore that. You really think I should hijack his date?”

“That’s what I would do.” Leia nodded. “Lay it all on the table.”

Jyn mulled it over. It didn’t really sound like something she would ever do – but neither did being in a committed relationship with someone and she was seriously considering that too. Maybe Leia was right. She did know more about romance than Jyn did.

“Okay,” she began slowly, watching a smile spread across Leia’s face. “Let’s say I agree. How would I do it?”

And that’s how she got here. In this restaurant, with food on her shirt, and Cassian staring at her like she grew two heads.

She came with the intention to follow through on their plan, Leia’s advice ringing in her head, but when she saw Cassian laughing with Marissa, she realized she wasn’t this person. She was not Leia; she didn’t make unnecessary scenes or manipulate things to get her way. She didn’t know how to approach their table with a straight face and pretend she was here just by accident. She didn’t know how to fake nonchalance she didn’t feel.

She’d wait until he got home – or maybe Leia was right, and she’d use this as an excuse to chicken out.

Either way, when she turned around to leave before they spotted her, she crashed into a waiter bringing a tray of food, and that was it. There was no hiding after that, and Cassian was less than impressed with her. She really should have listened to her first instinct telling her that Cassian was not Han – of course he wouldn’t appreciate stunts like this.

“I’m sorry.” Jyn bites her lip, resisting the urge to fidget. “I was just leaving, I swear.”

“I can’t believe it.” Cassian shakes his head. “This isn’t like you.”

“I know. It isn’t, that’s why I was leaving. It was Leia’s idea. She told me I should ruin your date.”

Cassian furrows his eyebrows at her. “Why?”

“Because she’s dramatic?”

He stares at her, unimpressed, and Jyn lets out a sigh, sensing that she’s been beaten.

“Because I think I love you,” she mumbles under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut. From the way Cassian’s breath catches, he heard.

She doesn’t dare look at him until he speaks, too afraid to find out what she’d see. There’s a few moments of silence, both of them holding their breath – then he says, voice careful, “If this is just the jealousy talking –”

“It’s not.” She shakes her head, opening her eyes. Cassian is holding himself still, face unreadable. There’s no turning back now so she might as well take the plunge. “I mean it, I want to be with you. For real. We can… go on cheesy dates like this and hold hands and tell all our friends and gross them out by being adorable in front of them. All of that. No more sneaking around, no more sex only.”

She pauses and her eyes drift towards Marissa still sitting at their table. Jyn swallows.

“If you want to,” she adds, quieter.

Cassian looks at her for a long moment. The seconds seem to stretch on as she waits for him to say something, send her away or take her into his arms. Anything other than this stoic silence.

When he finally sighs, his posture softens. The shake of his head is grudgingly fond.

“You’re so complicated.”

“Yeah,” Jyn laughs, covering up the insecurity with a shrug of her shoulder. “You should probably keep that in mind before agreeing to any of this.”

He lets out a huff of laughter. “Well, you should keep in mind that I don’t come without baggage either.”

“I don’t mind,” Jyn says immediately. She takes a deep breath, steeling herself before she dares to ask the question. “Is that a yes?”

He only gives her a smile, but the answer is written in his eyes. She beams back at him, her heart beating twice as fast with the force of her happiness.

“I have to go back and tell Marissa,” he says, turning to glance back at the woman in question.

Jyn winces. Yeah, stealing away Cassian while he’s in the middle of a date with another woman isn’t the classiest thing she’s ever done.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He shrugs but she can tell he feels bad for what he’s about to do. “We weren’t officially together or anything. Truth is, I think she knew my heart wasn’t in it.”

Jyn looks down, trying not to look too pleased at that. Some possessive part of her is perversely glad that he wanted her even when he was with someone else.

“See you at home?” Cassian asks, taking a step backwards.

Jyn glances at her chest, realizing that she’s still wearing someone’s dinner. Home and a hot shower sound amazing. Seeing Cassian after that sounds even better.

“Yeah. I’ll be waiting.”

“Good. I’m still mad at you, by the way,” he calls behind his back as he turns away.

Jyn grins.

“That’s okay. I’ll make it up to you later.”


End file.
